CH_4.9 (109)

CH_4.9 (109)

Takuma watched through the two-way mirror as Kano battered Gorou into a purple-and-blue pulp. The man had bruises so ugly that even his mother couldn't love the swollen and bloody face. Kano had been going at the man for a few hours already, and Gorou had already fainted countless times under the interrogation, woken up, and then thrashed again— but the man refused to speak up.

The Hirano murder case proceeded swiftly after Gorou's arrest. They had blood from under Hirano's fingernails and after matching it to blood samples procured from the man himself, it was clear beyond any doubt that Gorou was the killer. They had the neighbor as an eye-witness placing Gorou on the scene, his blood on the victim, and a charge sheet in the Police Force records telling a history of involvement in the drug trade— they didn't need anything more to put Gorou away for a good few years.

Capital punishment existed in the Hidden Leaf Village and Land of Fire, but the value of life was much different in a world strife with war fought with superhuman mercenaries. Gorou killing one person didn't warrant putting him to death.

No, Gorou had something else planned for his future. If he were lucky, he would spend time in imprisonment, but that was unlikely. Gorou was once a shinobi, and possessed a body strengthened by chakra. Letting an able body be idle in captivity was a waste. Instead, Gorou would be sentenced to a few years as an unpaid 'slave' down in the mines, digging for coal or whatever mineral that needed to be mined out.

Takuma didn't envy Gorou one bit. He had heard stories about how criminals were treated down in the mines. None of those stories had the word 'pleasant' associated with them.

Kano left Gorou alone in the room and walked into the viewing area. She removed her blood-stained leather gloves and slumped down in the vacant chair.

"He isn't opening his mouth," Kano clicked her tongue.

They had already got Gorou for the murder, but they wanted more from him. Kano wasn't beating the life out of Gorou for the fun of it. They wanted Gorou to name someone in the Haru group and implicate them for ordering the hit. But Gorou had kept his lips zipped.

"I would've taken the deal we offered him before," Arisu commented.

They had offered Gorou a lowered sentence, less time in the mine, but he had rejected it and kept his mouth shut, which had led them to use force. They knew the Haru group higher-ups behind Gorou, but they needed Gorou's willing word to create a tie to them so they could progress the matter.

"He's scared," Takuma stared at Gorou. "He knows we won't kill him, but that can't be said about the people from the Haru group.... If he opens his mouth, even going to the mines for a few years won't be safe."

The problem was that Takuma didn't know how to exploit the fear. He didn't know how to either overshadow Gorou's fear of the Haru Group or relieve that fear on a condition.

"We'll try again tomorrow," Kano sighed as she stretched her arms and legs, "and if he still refuses, we move on."

Technically, they were already 'done' with the case with Gorou— getting their hands on someone in the Haru Group was them trying to make something extra of the situation.

"Alright, it's getting late; get out, both of you," said Kano. She turned to Takuma. "Just one last thing. I don't care how you apprehend a suspect resisting arrest as long as you don't damage public property. A portion of the repair costs go out of our budget, and we already don't have much of that. So, let's try not to drain our wallets."

"Yes, ma'am." Takuma understood and did a mock salute.

He wholeheartedly understood where Kano was coming from. The Hidden Leaf Village was always in a state of damage and repair due to the presence of shinobi. Things broke due to careless use of chakra and strength, which made the government spend a significant chunk of the budget towards the maintenance of the village to keep it livable.

Takuma sighed. Of course, in the real world, disparities existed. In impoverished areas such as where Takuma lived, funds often didn't make it through, and when they did, they were insufficient and needed to be stretched, which led to the usage of poor construction materials. The roads around his house had new potholes whenever it rained.

He could kick down light poles, crack walls, dig holes in the ground, and it would be months before anyone would move their ass to fix stuff.

Takuma shook his head and took his leave. He changed into casual clothes in the locker room before heading into the town.

Being a shinobi often turned distance into displacement. It was like marking a spot on the mini-map and heading toward it in a straight line. Takuma avoided roods by jumping roof to roof, avoiding stepping on roads, and occasionally watching the people below him. Watching people go about their lives as he leaped over them was one of his favorite sights.

He soon reached his destination and threw a black ski mask over his face before entering an old diner from the back entrance. The diner was manned by a mother and her son in his early twenties. The back of the diner could be seen through the kitchen but not by the dining area. Both of them saw Takuma enter, but neither gave him a second glance and went back to work.

Both of them were civilians and ran a legitimate diner, but they also hosted one of the entrances to the Ring exclusive to staff members and fighters. He didn't know what deal they had made with the Ring, and he didn't care.

Takuma entered a back room with a huge well-sized hole in the middle. He stepped over the shallow wall and jumped inside. The depth was around twenty feet, and it opened up to a rough tunnel with yellow bulbs lining the ceiling that opened to the familiar corridors of the Ring. He went straight to his single-person locker room that had his gear.

"Scars! Victory!" the announcer screamed.

Takuma stood up and frowned down at his opponent. The fight was easy, which was good for him; it meant more money, mission points, and he didn't have to hire Sango for healing sessions— but he couldn't help but feel a bad taste in his mouth. Now, after the fight had ended, it was clearer than ever that Fall Hornet shouldn't have fought him.

At that moment, he felt like he was Bishop and Fall Hornet was him.

"With this victory, Scars has established a ten-fight win streak, showing why he's one of the rising stars!"

Takuma stepped out of the arena while the announcer hyped him up. He didn't like to participate in the hype as it didn't serve a purpose for him, as he didn't need his ego stroked after every win. But he couldn't lie that the ten-fight win steak felt pretty great— so great that he wondered if he should go out to celebrate.

"Ah, Scars, my prized boy."

As soon as Takuma entered the tunnel, his mood soured upon hearing Tsubura's voice greet him. His mood worsened when he saw the Ring's boss' fat face. He wanted to punch it, but Tsubura's two bodyguards prevented him from making a move.

Why was Tsubura here?

"I must commend you for your stellar performance, boy," Tsubura said with his greasy smile. "You're making people very happy with your fights."

'You mean I'm making you happy with my fights,' Takuma snorted internally.

"Which is why I think it's a great time to take things to the next level," Tsubura continued. "It's time to make good on your contract, boy. It's time for you to breathe some new life into the 2v1 category."

Takuma's eyes narrowed. It had been three months since Takuma had started his second contract with the Ring, and in that time, he had jumped between the taijutsu and weapons categories, accumulating wins on his record. The opponents had gotten tougher, but so had he. The cream-of-the-crop record was proof of it.

Takuma attributed most of it to fear. He had become cautious now that he was in the Leaf Military Police Force; he had become more critical about his safety. He didn't want to walk into training rocking a visible injury and get questioned about it— he could use the training excuse a couple of times, but if it happened repeatedly, it'd be nothing but suspicion.

He believed that the raised stakes had made him better at fighting.

But now, with 2v1 introduced into the fray, Takuma felt the stakes rise once again. He felt the stress grow inside him, but he took it in.

He could do it; he had gotten better.

"It's fitting, don't you think? 20th fight and a ten-fight win streak on the line at your 2v1 debut," said Tsubura. "... I'm glad that the planning went well. Your next will be a memorable one."

Takuma's eyes widened behind his mask.

He realized why he had fought Fall Hornet today.

He glared at Tsubura as the bad taste in his mouth worsened.

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón []. Link here and in signature.

Note: All the chapters will eventually be posted on public forums.